Briefing

BRIEFING

September 11, 2004|The Morning Call

KNOLL INC. TO SELL SHARES

IN PUBLIC OFFERING

Knoll Inc. of East Greenville said Friday that it had filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering of shares of its common stock. The shares in the offering are being offered by Warburg, Pincus Ventures, L.P., Knolls principal stockholder, and by certain directors and former employees of Knoll.

Knoll, founded in 1938, is a leading designer and manufacturer of office furniture products and textiles recognized for innovation and modern design.

Goldman, Sachs & Co. and UBS Securities LLC will act as the joint underwriters for the offering. (Staff)

LUCENT LOOKS TO CUT

UNION RETIREES HEALTH PLAN

TRENTON, N.J. | A year after Lucent Technologies Inc. announced it was reducing health benefits for its 50,000 retired management employees, the telecommunications gear maker is seeking similar cutbacks for its union retirees.

Lucents chief financial officer, Frank DAmelio, told industry analysts during a conference Thursday that spending on health care for retired union workers must come down to keep the Murray Hill company competitive.

Health care coverage for those 72,000 retirees is a key issue in negotiations for about 3,500 union workers at Lucent whose contract expires Oct. 31. Negotiations between Lucent, the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers are to resume next month. Lucent has about 2,500 retirees in the Lehigh Valley.

Also Friday, Lucent had its senior unsecured debt rating raised two levels to B2 by Moodys Investors Service because of rising sales. (AP)

TRIBUNE CO. DISCLOSES

WIDER GAP IN CIRCULATION

CHICAGO | Tribune Publishing on Friday again lowered circulation figures for its Newsday and Hoy newspapers, saying Newsdays daily circulation had been misstated by as many as 100,000 copies. The company also said it would take an additional charge of up to $60 million to resolve the errors.

The publisher, a division of Tribune Co. of Chicago, expects the cost of settling with advertisers who claim they overpaid, based on the inaccurate numbers, to increase by $45 million to $60 million over the $35 million already set aside. The $35 million was taken as a charge in the second quarter, and the rest will be recorded in the third quarter.

In June, Tribune disclosed that circulation numbers at the two New York newspapers had been inflated, but the revisions released Friday were significantly higher than before.

The Morning Call is owned by Tribune. (AP)

UNION: QWEST WILL PAY

TO SETTLE FRAUD CHARGES

DENVER | Qwest Communications International Inc. has tentatively agreed to pay $250 million to settle fraud allegations by federal regulators, a union official said Friday  a move that could help lift a cloud that has been hanging over the telecommunications giant for nearly 2 1/2 years.

John Thompson, a Communications Workers of America vice president, said he was notified by a company official of the tentative settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He said he did not have specifics.

Qwest spokesman Bob Toevs declined comment, saying only that the company was cooperating with the SEC and the Justice Department. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorneys Office in Denver, Jeff Dorschner, said he had not heard of a settlement with Qwest. (AP)

The company, a component of the Dow Jones industrial index, said Thursday after the close of regular trading that it expects to earn 30 cents to 35 cents per share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call had expected earnings of 52 cents a share.

Alcoa shares tumbled $2.54, or more than 7.5 percent, to $30.75 Friday on the New York Stock Exchange. (AP)